A Step Closer

My dad's hospice nurse came back for the second time on Friday. The hospital bed was delivered and we are hoping it will help with the open sores on his back from when he fell earlier in the month. It has a mattress that rolls back and forth very very slowly to ease the pressure off of his back. I had to pick my dad up and turn him to move him from his bed to the hospital bed. It was a challenge, but between my mom and I, we got it done.

The nurse came back to catheterize him since he is in a semi-comatose state. There will be no more two way conversations with my dad, and I feel good that I have said everything that I wanted to say to him. I asked the nurse, with the condition he is in now, what she thought about a time frame. A week? Days? She thought it would be more like days. What an odd thought. I feel like I am prepared for the final day, but I guess one doesn't know until it actually happens. I picture my grandma there, holding out a hand for my dad to grab. They had such a close relationship, I'm happy for them to continue that in heaven.

I have a wall where I hang angels to represent those who have passed from cancer. I will have to start looking for one for my dad. But like the others, it has to be one that perfectly represents who that person was. I will take my time and find one that just jumps out at me.

I haven't posted any pictures of the shuffle this year. I didn't take any. I had my camera there, but I just didn't do it. But I did buy a DVD that does a great representation of what the shuffle is all about. I will post it on here when I figure out how to do it (nevermind. Our computer can't play DVDs). I am even in the video! It was filmed a few years back and you'll have to wait for a bunch of people wearing yellow shirts. That was my first walk after being diagnosed, so I am wearing a bandanna. I walk right past the camera. I am a movie star.

But I do want to say thank you to:

Jeff & Heidi, my Mom, Robin, Brandy, Rosanna, Gemini, and Susan

for donating to me for the Shuffle. I was able to raise $470 for our team, and overall our team raised $4178. I believe the total raised at the shuffle was $129,000 give or take. It was a pretty good night, not counting the little rain that we got. We can tell however, that we are getting older. It took a little more to recover than it has in the past, but it is so worth it.